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Environmentally Friendly Design

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Designing More Sustainable Buildings and Products

Designing buildings and products so that they use and produce fewer chemicals, are more energy efficient, and more sustainable is another aspect of the RCC. Through concerted efforts, the federal government promotes the application of green building standards. The RCC green buildings partnership is developing a baseline that promotes and measures the results from use of the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. LEED currently captures more than 5 percent of all commercial and public building space, and is being used by many federal, state, and local governments, as well as private businesses to promote high standards for multimedia green building issues. It includes detailed requirements in the areas of:

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Sample Projects and Partnerships

EPA's Green Buildings Lead by Example

To serve as models of healthy workplaces that minimize environmental impacts, EPA strives to make its buildings as energy-efficient and sustainable as possible. In doing so, EPA simultaneously promotes the RCC's key elements of "greening" the government and environmentally friendly design. The Agency opened two state-of-the-art laboratories in 2003, both of which received a LEED Gold Rating from the US Green Building Council:

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Green Buildings in Public Trust

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District partnered with RCC to develop a sustainability project that piloted lighting control power reduction technology. The pilot saved 97,090 kilowatts per hour per year with payback in less than 2 years. BART is one of the largest parking lot owners in California, and plans to require the use of this technology in all of its garages. The estimated environmental result from the pilot garage alone is a 130,198 pound reduction in carbon dioxide emissions annually.

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Construction and Demolition (C&D) Program

The construction and demolition program recently completed an Innovation Pilot on building deconstruction and reuse, adopting a unique approach to reuse called "grave-to-cradle." The project demonstrates how to overcome barriers to deconstruction through an integrated process. The process links the deconstruction of old building materials to new building construction and renovation projects.

An RCC program at the University of Florida planned and executed the deconstruction of an old house - the Wesley House - on a local utility's property. A planned expansion of a local facility for at-risk youth - the Reichert House - used 8,000 pounds of materials salvaged from the deconstructed Wesley House. These materials were reused in numerous ways:

The project demonstrated an innovative and rewarding way to give back to the community. It soundly illustrates the environmental benefits of reusing materials from deconstruction rather than losing the resources by demolition.

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Pollution Prevention Partnerships

The RCC is working with EPA's Office of Pollution and Prevention and Toxics' (OPPT) Design for the Environment (DfE) program on two partnerships.

  1. Investigating lead-free alternatives for solder used in electronic equipment.
  2. Identifying opportunities for greening the manufacture of flat screen and cathode ray tube computer monitors.

The RCC also is partnering with the Green Blue Institute to challenge electronics manufacturers to develop greener electronic products. This eDesign Challenge promotes cradle-to- cradle design of sustainable electronics and end-of life management systems. Awards for eDesign will be announced this year.

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Industrial Design Partnership

The Industrial Design Partnership works with the DfE and Green Chemistry programs. The Industrial Designers Society of America and the RCC are working to make commercial products use greener materials that are more easily disassembled for recycling and reuse. Industrial designers drive choices for product materials, finishes, colors, functions, and assembly. These choices in turn drive demand for chemicals that end up in the waste stream. About 15,000 small businesses and industrial designers create products marketed by large businesses. The partnership's goals are to:

This RCC partnership rewards individuals within the Industrial Designers Society of America who design high-volume products that are environmentally friendly.

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For More Information

Green Buildings
Construction and Demolition Materials
Pollution Prevention/Industrial Design

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